Bill to Save Domestic Violence Shelters Approved by Senate
California Political Desk
October 15, 2009
SACRAMENTO – The California State Senate today unanimously approved legislation to restore $16.3 million in funding to save the state´s domestic violence shelters. The bill, which was defeated in September as a result of petty politics, was approved under reconsideration and now heads to the Governor for his consideration.
The emergency legislation backed by Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco) would restore state funding for 94 domestic violence shelters and centers throughout California. The funding had previously been eliminated by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger as a line-item budget veto.
"Governor Schwarzenegger has put women and children at risk; he will now have a second chance to do the right thing," said Yee. "Each passing day only results in the closing of more domestic violence shelters and victims facing homelessness or returning to their abuser."
"In order to keep the remaining domestic violence shelters open, it is absolutely vital that the Governor immediately sign this bill into law," said Yee. "Failure to do so will only result in increased health care, law enforcement and other costs to the state. But more critically, it puts victims of domestic violence and their children in grave danger."
Tomorrow, award-winning recording artist Moby will join Yee in San Francisco to urge Schwarzenegger to sign the bill. In the evening, Moby will perform at San Francisco´s Warfield Theatre, where he will donate all the proceeds of his concert to the state´s domestic violence shelters. Moby, along with the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence, recently established a permanent fund to benefit California shelters.
Yee´s legislation – supported by statewide and local domestic violence prevention agencies – allocates $16.3 million from the State´s Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Fund to the Domestic Violence Program. The fund will be repaid from the General Fund within three years.
The Domestic Violence Program funds allow local agencies to provide emergency shelter, transitional housing, and legal advocacy, as well as assistance with restraining orders, counseling and other vital support services. Domestic violence shelters are often the only thing standing between victims and grave physical danger, and California´s communities cannot sustain their loss. For a list of shelters and programs at risk of closure, visit: http://www.safenetwork.net/GrantAdmin/GranteesList.aspx.
"We should not be balancing the budget on the backs of our state´s most vulnerable citizens," said Tara Shabazz, Executive Director of the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence (CPEDV). "Funding must be restored by any means necessary."
Nearly 2,600 supporters of the legislation have joined a Facebook page – SAVE Domestic Violence Shelters – to encourage passage of the bill.
"This is a bipartisan issue that Californians care about," said Beverly Upton, Executive Director of the San Francisco Domestic Violence Consortium and Partners Ending Domestic Abuse. "We must bring these dollars back to the domestic violence shelters and those who work in the trenches everyday to keep California safe."
According to a national census of domestic violence services, in just one day, over 7,700 requests for services went unmet due to a lack of resources. When the resources do not exist for victims to receive domestic violence services, they are often left with no choice but to risk their own lives by returning to their abusers.
If you are a victim of domestic violence or if you want to report an incident of domestic violence, call the 24-hour-a-day toll-free National Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), 1-800-787-3224 (TDD) or the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence at 1-800-524-4765.
The emergency legislation backed by Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco) would restore state funding for 94 domestic violence shelters and centers throughout California. The funding had previously been eliminated by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger as a line-item budget veto.
"Governor Schwarzenegger has put women and children at risk; he will now have a second chance to do the right thing," said Yee. "Each passing day only results in the closing of more domestic violence shelters and victims facing homelessness or returning to their abuser."
"In order to keep the remaining domestic violence shelters open, it is absolutely vital that the Governor immediately sign this bill into law," said Yee. "Failure to do so will only result in increased health care, law enforcement and other costs to the state. But more critically, it puts victims of domestic violence and their children in grave danger."
Tomorrow, award-winning recording artist Moby will join Yee in San Francisco to urge Schwarzenegger to sign the bill. In the evening, Moby will perform at San Francisco´s Warfield Theatre, where he will donate all the proceeds of his concert to the state´s domestic violence shelters. Moby, along with the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence, recently established a permanent fund to benefit California shelters.
Yee´s legislation – supported by statewide and local domestic violence prevention agencies – allocates $16.3 million from the State´s Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Fund to the Domestic Violence Program. The fund will be repaid from the General Fund within three years.
The Domestic Violence Program funds allow local agencies to provide emergency shelter, transitional housing, and legal advocacy, as well as assistance with restraining orders, counseling and other vital support services. Domestic violence shelters are often the only thing standing between victims and grave physical danger, and California´s communities cannot sustain their loss. For a list of shelters and programs at risk of closure, visit: http://www.safenetwork.net/GrantAdmin/GranteesList.aspx.
"We should not be balancing the budget on the backs of our state´s most vulnerable citizens," said Tara Shabazz, Executive Director of the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence (CPEDV). "Funding must be restored by any means necessary."
Nearly 2,600 supporters of the legislation have joined a Facebook page – SAVE Domestic Violence Shelters – to encourage passage of the bill.
"This is a bipartisan issue that Californians care about," said Beverly Upton, Executive Director of the San Francisco Domestic Violence Consortium and Partners Ending Domestic Abuse. "We must bring these dollars back to the domestic violence shelters and those who work in the trenches everyday to keep California safe."
According to a national census of domestic violence services, in just one day, over 7,700 requests for services went unmet due to a lack of resources. When the resources do not exist for victims to receive domestic violence services, they are often left with no choice but to risk their own lives by returning to their abusers.
If you are a victim of domestic violence or if you want to report an incident of domestic violence, call the 24-hour-a-day toll-free National Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), 1-800-787-3224 (TDD) or the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence at 1-800-524-4765.
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